Gears 2 hype begins with “Last Day” cog hunt (with code)

The Gears of War 2 marketing push has begun, as media have been sent life- …

Leave it to Microsoft to show up at your doorstep the day after a Sony event with Gears of War 2 wares. I woke up yesterday morning to find a package from Microsoft waiting on the stoop. The neat box, trimmed with the Gears logo, seemed relatively nondescript. Yawning, I opened the package and my post-slumber stupor hung for a moment as I stared inquisitively at what lay in the box:

As part of Microsoft's recent "Every tag tells a tale" campaign, the company sent out life-sized cogs to media in the hopes of brewing interest in what looks like the next big viral marketing campaign. The cog itself reads "Property of the Coalition of Ordered Governments" on one side, and the game's website and a 13-digit CSID#. A small paper slip also came packed in the box, with the text "if found, visit gears.com/lastday and enter the CSID#."

Upon entering the code into the "Last Day" web site, a pop-up window opened with what looks like an exclusive Gears gamer picture of a Locust head. Other than that, though, the site remains largely a mystery, as is often the case with many of these viral marketing schemes. A variety of Gears-looking areas can be panned through and inspected, revealing some shots of the scenery and a few stray voice clips. Here's our code, if you'd like to give it a shot: 129514-OH1IK-EL.

It's still unclear how this promotion will hit the public. The text on the included paper slip, "if found," makes it seem as though Microsoft may plan to hide these for normal gamers to find and reward finders with exclusive content. But that's just speculation. We'll have more information on the contest as it becomes available.